E bikes with hub motors. Advantages and why they still matter !

Рет қаралды 10,177

Күн бұрын

In this video I will talk about e bike with front and rear hub motors explaining why and when they are smarter and better choice than mid motor e bikes.
These affordable, flexible and fun e bikes are still going strong and should get more attention.
Because of the tech big brands promoting mid motors one can get impression that they have lost importance but it is quite opposite of that.

Пікірлер: 35

@Bergwacht Жыл бұрын

I switched from the mid motor to the rear hub after 2 years because I was tired of buying a new chain every 3 months... The mid-engines are getting stronger, 300% 400% support is no longer a rarity, while the chains and gears are getting thinner and thinner, it can't end well.

@siriosstar4789 Жыл бұрын

"it can't end well " except that it has .

@Tertion Жыл бұрын

@@siriosstar4789 not really, just check the market.

@iamsyt 3 жыл бұрын

Clear and concise!

@davidlegard9814 Жыл бұрын

I like a front hub motor because it effectively gives you 2-wheel drive - motor at the front , pedalling at the back. I find that they climb very well, the weight of the front motor gives a better weight balance and obviously there is no strain on the chain/cassette. The downsides are if you go off-road or in the wet, when you will lose some traction, reducing your range considerably. And if the road is a bit rough, you will feel every single bump as that unsprung weight hits the obstruction.

@dalvenable331 Жыл бұрын

great video, really surprised I had not seen this before now. You nailed everything down pretty well when it comes to the hub motors. I prefer 1500 watt direct drive coupled with an 48 volt 20+ah 1600 watt battery. Very heavy but power and range are fantastic. I have built a few mid drives and found the issues you spoke of a real problem for folks not knowing what was what about ebike conversions. My spin on the rim is I can install an electric bike hub motor conversion kit on most bikes as easy as changing a rear tire and cost ( battery included) perhaps $700 for an Ebike that can go upwards of 35 mph have 3-5 to 9 PAS levels and hills, mountains be damned. then if you get bored or just find a better donor frame, you merely swap out the kit from one frame to another. I have kits that have been on five different frames and are still in use today. Do that with a proprietary Mid drive frame and system.

@Vmaxfodder Жыл бұрын

hub motors are very easily repaired, and upgraded to beat any hub motor for cheaper ! just add more batteries ! great points !

@JD-vh1qd Жыл бұрын

Thanks. I live in a very hilly area. Lots of valleys . I thought mid drive bikes were better for that but after hearing this maybe a hub motor is better. I have chronic back and knee pain but riding a comfortable bike does not bother my back especially if I am not straining to peddle the bike.

@daliborhorvacki Жыл бұрын

Hi JD If the hills are too steep then a standard 250W motor may not be the best choice because of the torque of the motor itself. You should test it out definitely with 350W or 500W versions of motors Depending on the surface you ride on and your bikes and your own weight. My wife uses a 350W for her trips to work and this motor is actually too much for her so I had to adjust is via controller to work well in traffic.

@ChrisBFerguson Жыл бұрын

The worst part about mid drives is needing to service your chain a lot. Hub motors. Battery hog. Weight too.

@completesalvation1755 Жыл бұрын

A realistic honest view without a hidden agenda. I wii point out that a front hub motor alone is not a good idea because the front fork can eventually break from the stress. It is also unstable in rain and gravel. Thanks

@dalvenable331 Жыл бұрын

True that! the front drop out on most bikes are not designed to handle the drive end of front wheel drive and unless you really got to have one please use two not one torque arm and replace rigid forks for a suspension fork which generally have heavier hardware. Lot of trike build use the front wheel drive hub motor conversion kits and the stress it put on the standard forks tend to lead to the wheel jumping out.

@flosa1995 Жыл бұрын

True that, you just dont put enough weight on the front wheel, most weight is naturally at the back wheel Even when modifying the front fork you will just always have a inferior experience but ofc an easier install

@davidhodgson977 Жыл бұрын

Hub motors can be over volted very easily. My so called 36volt motor has been running 60volts for five years. I did have to change the controller of course.

@flosa1995 Жыл бұрын

All BLDC motor are easily overvolted, this includes mid drives! Mid drives only tend to be more difficult because usually they also house the speed controller which -most likely- has to be removed or unplugged for overvolting

@davidhodgson977 Жыл бұрын

@floSa I've just put a BBHD mid drive on my mountain bike in Thailand and it is running on a 52 volt battery and, I don't intend using a higher voltage battery than that. But I do know you can run it using a different controller and higher voltage.

@flosa1995 Жыл бұрын

@@davidhodgson977 Bafang BBSHD? Nice motor you got there Just be careful with the mounting It tends to work loose, use good loctite and check it every now and then else it will/may work loose Ask me how I know ;)

@Anonymous-jm3mg Жыл бұрын

Glad you like hubdrives too. I ordered a Heybike Brawn but it hasn't arrived yet. I'm sure I'd like if it goes faster than stock so I'd be curious to hear what you may know about plug and play performance, like eggrider or a higher performance controller 🤔. I'm completely new to ebikes and am trying to research the internet but haven't found much. I really don't want to spend much for a few miles per hour extra, so a program cheat or something almost free would work best for my situation. I stumbled on your video and figured I'd reach out to you and also subscribed. Thanks for reading this if you have time.

@dalvenable331 Жыл бұрын

One thing some motor controllers have a single blue or pink wire that comes out the controller then goes back in. That is the restrictor wire. cut it and your system operates unrestricted can add 15 to 25 miles per hour in some cases. But not all systems offer this so you can sometimes go into the menu on your handlebar LCD display and readjust wheel size to a larger wheel to fool it into going faster than the restrictor is programmed for. Also up volting always does the job. If your bike is using an 48 volt up volt to an 52 volt. no issue with over load on systems 36 to 48 volt which generally have a 60+volt capacitor. If you have a big direct drive hub motor up volting will make it a real fast system and planetary geared hubs get much better range.

@wearesolarfarmers Жыл бұрын

Also,the manufacturer and build quality effects motor abillity to perform. And I have heard even expensive motors can succumb to breakdowns depending on how well they are cared for..or..not cared for.

@dalvenable331 Жыл бұрын

Direct drive motor hubs are about bullet proof with no moving parts they last for years. Even built a friends son an E-BMX using a 750 watt direct drive motor and the whole family ride it all the time it never gives up. no oil, no gas and no pull or kick starting just go.

@jonasmeier417 Жыл бұрын

So cargo bike, 200 or 250 kg in total, going uphill with an average of 8 %, steepest for about 50 meters is 20 %. Front or rear hub motor possible. Which brand/model of hub motor from 500 to 2000 Watt can you recommend, please?

@oiulkn2297 3 жыл бұрын

Sounds logical to me that hub motors are better. But, all the premium cargo bike brands use mid motor. Why?

@128bike 3 жыл бұрын

Probably because mid motors have integrated torque measurement and it is turn key system. Most cargo bike companies make small quantity series and are unable to develop their own systems. Once the volumes go up we will see which way will it go, I am curious too :)

@sammiller6631 Жыл бұрын

Because you can charge more for mid motors, giving better profit margins. Premium brands already have padded margins and the mid drive hype train allows them to charge even more.

@flosa1995 Жыл бұрын

Because of torque, most EU countries enforce 250W on ALL ebikes, they should remove the wattage limit for cargo ebikesor heavily increase it and only limit speed Then you wouldnt have to resort to mid drives, a 2000W direct drive hub motor pulls all day with basically no maintenance Also yes there are geared hub motors which give torque at low wattage but these tend to sheer their nylon gears off under constant heavy load (as in cargo bikes)

@mozzjones6943 Жыл бұрын

@@flosa1995 7 years of hard slog on my geared hub motor and no sign of needing work yet.

@flosa1995 Жыл бұрын

@@mozzjones6943 Cargo bike?

@southernebiking Жыл бұрын

Honestly, this is very one-sided. Put your 200 kg on the hub drive motor on a steep hill and you probably won’t get up the hill. I have put 2000 miles on my mid drive without breaking the chain or wearing it out. I’m not saying it’s the only way to go, quite the opposite for some people, a hub drive is better, for others a mid drive is better. But let’s not stretch out the way this is being stretched. Just give an honest comparison as each has pros and each have cons.

@flosa1995 Жыл бұрын

The only thing that makes hub motors suck at a hill are wattage limits If you use peak wattage laws as a startup boost then the hub motor wont have issues Also if you weigh 200kg then you probably dont have any business forcing a bicycle up steep hills imo..

@southernebiking Жыл бұрын

@@flosa1995 the 200 kg comes from the video not me. It was the example he used. I stand by my statement, the way the bikes are now built, a hub drive is not as good as a mid drive on hills. I’m not claiming a mid drive is better in every area. As a matter fact, some people are much happier with a hub drive and that is fine. But to just go by this video, you would think hub drives are the end-all be-all, and that mid drives are nothing but garbage. Far from the case friend, they both have their advantages and disadvantages. So let’s just give a non-biased rundown on what those advantages and disadvantages are. Then let the buyer decide where each advantage and disadvantage belongs on their own list of priorities.

@128bike Жыл бұрын

Point well made . Let the buyer decide on what they need, both have their con's and pro's. I confess to being biased here because I like hub motors more personally. This video was kind of a reaction to the mid motor hype that's been going on and also the overpriced e-bikes using them these days. I am still bigger fan of hub motors because of better price and ease of service for the e-bike afterwards and component accessibility. For the hilly area with cargo I would think about the geared hub motor and more than 250W version and surely a torques sensor included. Mid motor is way more fun and advanced because of torque measuring feature.